19-Year-Old Woman Arrested for OWI After a Breakup in Wisconsin

Around 3:51 AM on May 18, 2024, Officer Samantha Pickering with the Verona Police Department observed a black 2019 Honda CR-V traveling west at approximately 40 MPH in a 25 MPH zone on East Verona Avenue in the vicinity of Lincoln Street. She made a U-turn and activated her emergency lights to initiate a traffic stop, and the driver pulled over on East Verona Avenue near Gilman Street. She made contact with the driver, who was identified as Bethany, and asked her where she was coming from and where she was headed. Bethany told Officer Pickering that she had gone out in Madison earlier that evening and that she was headed home. 
When she was asked where she was, Bethany told the officer that she was in Madison, even though she happened to be in Verona. As she was speaking with Bethany, Officer Pickering detected the odor of alcohol and observed other indicators of impairment. She asked Bethany how much she had to drink, and Bethany admitted to drinking a White Claw earlier that evening. She returned to her patrol car to run her information through the system, and based on her suspicion of impairment, she asked Bethany to perform field sobriety exercises. 
The first field sobriety exercise involved the Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus (HGN) test. During the HGN test, Officer Pickering observed a lack of smooth pursuit, distinct and sustained nystagmus at maximum deviation, and the onset of nystagmus prior to 45 degrees. She did not observe vertical nystagmus in either eye. The second exercise was the Walk and Turn test, and Bethany failed to touch heel-to-toe on each step, failed to turn as instructed, and walked backwards as she attempted to return to the starting position. The final field sobriety exercise was the One Leg Stand test. During the One Leg Stand test, Bethany failed to raise her foot in the proper fashion while displaying a lack of balance. 
After the field sobriety exercises were completed, Bethany was offered an opportunity to blow into a preliminary breath test (PBT), and the results indicated a BAC of 0.146%. Based on her erratic driving, her indicators of impairment, her admission to consuming alcohol, her inability to perform the field sobriety tests adequately, and the results of the PBT indicating that she was over the legal limit, Bethany was placed under arrest for operating while intoxicated (OWI). 
Officer Pickering read her the Informing the Accused form and she agreed to submit breath samples for testing. Bethany was subsequently transported to the Verona Police Department for further processing. Her Intoximeter results indicated a BAC of .15g/210L of breath. After they finished processing her, she was released to a friend pending her court appearance in the Verona Municipal Court on July 17, 2024 after they took responsibility for her. She was issued the following citations: Operating while intoxicated (1st), Operating with Prohibited Alcohol Concentration Greater than .15, Exceeding Speed Zones, Etc. (11-15 MPH), and Non-Registration of Auto.

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